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subnubilus

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Everything posted by subnubilus

  1. I liked Bastila in-game better too, but I am totally the opposite about Atris. I have different tastes, clearly.
  2. I just checked, and no, that's the art I DISLIKE. The art I like so much is this: I also LOVE the in game models for all of the characters much better than the official LA artwork, especially Atris. I guess I have different taste than most people, but the hard, bronze skinned thing was really ugly to me, especially with the white, and the Handmaiden, in the official art, is just shaped wrong (the face, mainly). I notice most of my complaints with those two characters, but then, I really, really liked the way they looked in the game (they were probably my favorite original aesthetic in the game).
  3. I LOVED the art that French dude did of Atris and Nihilus for some magazines way back when... it's what first peaked my interest KotOR II (for some reason, despite being an avid SW fan, I wasn't anticipating it). But the official artwork isn't all good, and especially Atris looks terrible! She looks nothing like her beautiful in game model, neither in shape nor color. What's up with that? Too bad the magazine paintings of Nihilus and Atris fighting weren't possible...
  4. I think some of the points you bring are up very valid, and I acknowledge there are many issues with K2, but many of your points are, at least to me, invalid. You reload maps to get different items, you "power play", and all that stuff... that isn't role-playing! You might as well buy a strategy guide if you're going to abuse the system. I'm not saying you shouldn't be able to play that way, but frankly, a game that only falls apart when play it like you do is NOT a problem for me. However, I realize that K2 has many issues regardless of how you play. Mothman, what I meant about being led to the dark side and knowing it wasn't the GAME FORCING YOU to follow that path, but instead giving you free will and still having you WANT to go down that path, even if you are trying to be Light Side, or playing yourself, or whatever. It's not something I can explain exactly without going on about it for a while.
  5. Another who honors the 'Bad mother****er' himself, i salute you! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I would of thought that you hate "the bad Mutha" because of who's head he chopped off <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I wonder how much pain he felt as it happened...If any at all. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Cause it happened so quickly I dont think that he felt any pain at all <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I've heard that you live for about 2 seconds after your head is actually off your body. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm pretty sure it's more than that. It seems like it would be more than that. Pain isn't an issue in beheading though, because I'm pretty sure the shock of what's happened takes you over until your brain passes out.
  6. And Ghost of Anakin, I actually didn't see the K1 plot twist coming, and I paid a lot of attention to the game. It might be the way I played or something, but I didn't pinpoint the twist until right before it was revealed, and even then I only had a creeping suspicion. I don't remember the game well enough to say anything more than that, but I don't take myself to be an idiot, so it's perfectly understandable for someone to be surprised by the twist. I do think it's pretty lame that someone would skim the dialogue, though... there are better games out there if you just want to be a beserker. I liked the twist, but I don't think they're necessary all the time and I certainly wouldn't put K1 above another game just for that. The guy do did The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable always had a plot twist, and it worked sometimes, but other times it was just stupid. It can be good if it fits, but I don't think it's necessary... many great stories have no surprises, and perhaps the greater experience would be a game where you know you're being misled but you continue on that path regardless... personally, I think that would be the ultimate for a Star Wars Jedi game. But, it would require leaps and bounds in design before I think it would work.
  7. Who's that?...I don't know about it. " <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If you're serious, Aeris is a character from Final Fantasy VII. She dies in the middle of the game and, on a subtler note, takes all her equipped stuff with her <_<
  8. I like Chris from what I've read in his interviews. Why is everyone here giving him so much crap? I'm not criticizing anyone, just wondering why he's getting the finger for alleged problems.
  9. Personally, it isn't a matter of hating the game but rather the annoyance with all the loopholes through cut content. Personally, if they'd have just cleaned up after they started hacking stuff it wouldn't have mattered one way or another and I'm betting there wouldn't be nearly as many people interested in the cut content. Not to rant but as it stands, your party suddenly disappears during the final sequence with exception to a small bit by the droid Bao-Dur sent in his steed (I never did unlock any conversation that explained why he chose to, but I infer it was the Telos restoration) and a minor confrontational (LS) for Mira. There's also the plethora of dialogue regarding the HK-50s and your loveable assassin droids desire to solve said problematic instancing. Then there's the storyline break during the cutscene with G0T0 and Bao-Dur's droid in that G0T0 controls the situation but LS you end up setting off the MSG after all instead of the whole sequence where HK-47 comes along with the reprogrammed HK-50s and puts and end to G0T0. The fact that the rest of my jedi wannabe posse just up and failed to make an appearance in the finale seems rather odd... again, I just infered they all died or were knocked unconcious on landing, if you want to call it that. No, its not a hate for TSL... just a loathing for poorly finalized products. After all, I shilled out a fair amount of money for what I thought was a highly acclaimed sequel. However, what I got was rough product that had been rushed through finalization to meet a bottom line and a deadline. Again, I'd have been satisfied with the current content the game offers if they'd have just cut out all the loose ends and loopholes. I won't go into the argument on how annoying I found that they actually included the cut content during install even though it isn't actually a part of tha game. I guess, more than anything, its a desire that publishers should be held accountable for the quality of games they make especiallly considering the amount of money they request for said product... as a realist, I understand the fruitlessness of such a desire however <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Excellent post. What the masses like in games, why they buy them, how they play them, etcetera... I think that makes top-notch quality, especially towards the end of the game, not as big of an issue as it should be. It's very depressing because it's bad for gamers and it points out how lame most people are (I'm not simmering about it but it IS true!). I'm hoping to get a job as a QA guy soon (and work my way up, the best I can, to Designer), and I guess I'll see this behind-the-scenes, first-hand. Somebody needs to beat the system and share the enlightenment, or we're going to have too few great games to sustain ourselves with.
  10. BattleWookie, I see your point but the fact remains that some of us do find KotOR II to be more "fun" or "immersive" or whatever we were looking for. I know I'm in the minority, but for most of the game I did get into it more than the first KotOR. And Germi, I too am a Star Wars fanatic (Episodes IV, V, and VI only), and I felt both of these games were unfaithful to the source material in many, many ways. The only reason it doesn't bother me as much as the prequels is because it's not accepted as canon, I don't think, so it's more of a fantasy on the side. I don't really take anything to be real Star Wars except the old trilogy, and even then, there is no definitive edition IMO... the old movies had some issues (Jabba as a man, for instance), and the special editions and DVD editions have a LOT of problems... so Star Wars, as an ideal, is not something I've seen materialized, and I don't think I'll ever see it. I wouldn't mind getting the chance to take a swing at it though, but I bet dealing with Lucasarts, even if you do make it big, is a legal pain in the ass, without as much freedom as you'd need to NOT screw it up.
  11. Yea, actually, the only reason I even fired up the save game editor originally was because I wanted some headgear that didn't look uber stupid... alas, no such luck. The circlet of saresh had to be the worse looking imho... I think I ended up with target assessors as they seemed less intrusive on the face. Even the sith mask I thought looked pretty gimp. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Target Assessors, Meditation Bands, and the like look alright on certain characters, especially Mira.
  12. Oh, kinda off topic, but I remember now what I was going to say... one thing they DIDN'T improve was the headgear! I remember at Comic-Con 2004 when they had some Obsidian guy showing the game off, I asked if they would still have all the terrible looking headgear, and the guy laughed and said it was all still in. I kept the dumb looking stuff off, and compromised occasionally with some okay looking stuff if it really fit the character in function. Not a big deal, but kind of an obvious thing... er, right? Anyone else think the headgear, save a few cool looking masks, is hideous?
  13. I missed the lightsaber forms the entire first time I played :">. Not the same as Kotor 1, you see, so it just didn't register. I'm sure I would have found them if the combat had ever been difficult. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's pretty hard to believe! I love menus, maybe that's why... I changed them whenever necessary, leaving it on the multiple attacker form when I didn't particularly need to change it, until I got Niman (Moderation), which I used when I didn't need something in particular. Any time I needed to get messy with lightsaber wielding opponents, I switched to Makashi (or whatever it was called), and for multiple blaster opponents, or single blaster opponent, or single melee opponent... whatever, if I thought it would save me a tiny bit of health, I did it, if anything just to look like a badass. I definitely noticed the difference, especially against Sith Lords, multiple blaster opponents, and the Force Channel form (I didn't get other Force forms). I liked the idea, but different animation for each is something I expected and was dissappointed to see missing. DARTHPON (do you have to YELL that when you say it?), when you enable it, it's enabled, that's it. It grants you bonuses and penalties depending on what form you choose, and different forms are better for different situations. If in doubt, use the form with the three white arrows or use the Niman form. If you don't get it, be sure not to use one which has any penalties (in other words, use a form that only has + something, not - something). Get it?
  14. I use subnubilus for aliasing, always, but for role-playing, when I need a real name, I use my first name as my first name and my middle name as my last name. I know it's not at all creative, but I play myself anyway, and I happen to like my name... David Quinn. I figure if Luke is a Star Wars Universe name, David is somewhere or another, and Quinn (IMO) does sound like a lot of the SW surnames you hear thrown around.
  15. It's quite a common reaction. It's precisely because the rest of the game is so good that you feel so bad when the ending flops. If the whole game had been mediocre, I'd just have stuck it up on the shelf and moved on to something else. The feeling of disappointment lessens when you start playing again, because you're immersed in the strong portion of the game and finding new things you missed the first time. I agree, though obviously Obsidian were never going to satisfy everyone, nor should they try. This annoys me, too, though it has its defenders. In the case of Atris it makes sense, because she's so full of herself you could probably start juggling grenades and she wouldn't notice. Sometimes it allows you to express yourself in a different way, enhancing roleplaying opportunities, but more often it's just changing the words to create an illusion of choice that doesn't really exist. I don't think so - it's more likely to be lack of influence, as others have said above. First time through it's quite easy to lose influence a couple of times and not think much of it, especially when Visas joins. Rushed ending. Have you read the cut content threads or the information about the Restoration Project? There are scenes with Handmaiden on Malachor which should get restored. It's a major design flaw for all the characters that the act of Jedification is essentially the end of their development in the game, rather than a mid-way point before the student-teacher phase begins. It is very strange that Obsidian can work so hard to create characters that you care about and yet not see in advance that this would be a common reaction. I'm less inclined to attribute this to haste - more of a genuine mistake. I think Obsidian appreciate honest and detailed feedback like this, though in public they can't do more than defend their product. There is a magazine article floating around the forums in which they discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the game, but they don't exactly focus on the storytelling weaknesses. It might be that it's a little too close to home for them to open up about it - stories are supposed to be their great strength, after all. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I would like to play it again eventually, but I can't for a good while... I'm moving to California any day now (as soon as my latest painting sells) to wash dishes while I try to get a job as a game tester, and considering I'll have about $500 when I get there, with nowhere to go, who knows how long it will be until I can get a place long enough to make it reasonable to ship my monitor and game systems out there. This game was my farewell for the gaming hiatus I'm about to undergo. I still think I had enough influence with the Handmaiden... I really made that my main goal, and she said she wanted me to train her. From what I've read online, it sounds like you have to beat her three times in the duels (I did) and then ask her to put her clothes back on, and she puts on a Jedi robe that was her mother's or something, and then you ask her about that, and then ask Kreia... and then all this good stuff I missed out on... and then that's that. I will keep an open mind though, because that still seems like a REALLY bad decision to me, to design it like that... what if you don't ask her to put clothes on, but you use her in your party, clothing her... then what? She won't undress again, so you don't have the option of asking her to put clothes on. So maybe I'm wrong. Did anyone else here NOT use guides/internet on their first go through and run into the same problem I did (assuming you too had high Handmaiden influence)? About the Restoration Project... I don't have the PC version! I'm a Mac guy myself (and haven't had a PC since my Tribes 2 days), but once they come out with the Intel Macs and I have some money, I plan to dual-boot with Windows and get back into PC gaming (even though, actual games available aside, I prefer consoles). And it's not my bag, anyway... it would take a lot to try and explain why, but I'm mostly in it for the first play through. I am as hardcore a gamer as they come, but I think I have a different way of approaching games, or at least different things I get out of them, than most people. I can read books over and over again, but for various reasons, playing games over again is totally different. I'll do it occasionally, but usually after a long time has passed, and more for nostalgia than for true escapism.
  16. I'm not going to give them crap because I've never walked in their shoes, but I imagine planning better would have helped. The ending, tying up the loose ends and all, is much more important than the beginning, and bits of the middle. Some priority should have gone to the end game. I thought Malachor V was pretty lame altogether. What's up with the horrible CG there, anyway? That ship would be toast, not to mention the passengers, if it hit those rocks that hard. And it magically repaired itself? The whole ending seemed tacked on.
  17. Well, i like Kotor I generally. Here's why: -Kotor I offers a unique and more 'Star Wars' based story. Kotor II had too many elements which made it look like real life. -Somehow, it felt like Kotor II was missing... action. I don't mean killing Sith and soldiers. I mean, the fact that it doesn't feel like there is an enemy. I know they're supposed to be hidden and all, but it just didn't feel like the Sith weren't really a problem. Like there was no danger at all. -Kotor II had a more complicated story which is easily misunderstood. Even if you play 10 times over, you'll still be missing much of the story and will stil lbe confused with many aspects of it. -I really don't like the Influence system. It is impossible to get all the influence with all the characters, making you have to repeat the whole game just to listen to Mandalores' stories or to get GOTO to tell you everything he knows. -The game can be sometimes too easy or too hard, making it unpredictable. However, i have to admit that many things were improved in Kotor II as well. For example, the clothes, force powers, lightsaber forms, etc. I also like the Random loot generator. I also like the new feats and that you get to have a prestige class and you can level up to 40 (I really love Force Crush). This is just my opinion. I'm not trying to say this game sucks (Otherwise i wouldn't be posting here). I'm just saying that i was disappointed with it. It could've been a lot better. Still, it's a good game which i enjoyed. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fair enough. Here's where I disagree: I thought both games were hit and miss regarding their "Star Wars feel". KotOR II was much more realistic to me, which might be what you're saying, but I preferred that. The lack of goofy characters was something that I appreciated (I don't mind a goofy droid here and there, but I don't like every other character being cartoony which happened a lot in the first game). This game did seem less urgent... you killed people, you didn't really have to defend yourself much. I thought the sheer amount of death being dealt was pretty over the top. But yeah, I can see what you mean. I don't think a complicated story is a problem, unless it's bull****. I have some minor quibbles, but on the whole I thought it was simply more mature. I didn't have trouble understanding it... but they did leave a lot to the imagination, which is good sometimes, but not... you know... when you're playing the whole game just to figure stuff out. I was excited to get to see more of Atris, and her showing at the end was pathetic and abrupt. I didn't like the influence system as much as I thought I would, but for different reasons. I won't get into it now. As for the difficulty, I don't know what you did, but my game was incredible easy. I never experienced anything difficult, believe it or not, which was somewhat of a dissappointment, but then again, it didn't bother me that much. I'm a Jedi, after all!
  18. I'm almost totally in it for the immersion/escapist factor. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE menus and statistics and all that dorky stuff, but it's just a frosting, which is why you don't hear me complaining too much about the combat elements (which, in both KotOR games, is in many ways absolutely ridiculous, IMO). I agree with you... at least in part. I was totally immersed up until my meeting with the Council, and after that, it was like the game ended without it... ending. It left a sudden hole in me, and that's why it hit me so hard, I think. I'm totally over it, and I'm almost glad it happened now because it's got me thinking about game design again, but I agree with you. The thing is, as much as I liked the first game, I don't think it pulled me in like this one did, probably because of the quality of the dialogue this time around. I took time after a session to think over things Kreia said, because, inadvertently or not, she seemed truthful to me, yet in an uncomfortable sort of way. I thought I might end up falling to the Dark Side "properly", but she didn't keep it up long enough. I think they made certain aspects so rich that it made the game seem worse when they didn't allow that much more interaction... like holographic dessert, if that makes any sense.
  19. I will reply to some of the other posts in just a bit, but I had to say, your comment is just silly. I liked KotOR II better, as I'm sure at least one other person did, so THAT'S proof that K1 is NOT better, but rather that it is subjective. Besides, people, in general, are incredibly stupid. If you don't believe me, wander around in the various official Halo 2 boards on Bungie.net. That isn't a jab or a joke, I'm serious... that's humanity in there, and they buy the games. A game like Halo 2 is much more likely to have the mainstreamers post on it's boards than a game like KotOR II.
  20. I played a Gray Jedi, but I think we're defining them differently (I prefer the English spelling, grey, but in the SW universe it's gray, apparently). A Gray Jedi, as it says on the Gray Jedi Robe description (which I wore from the time I got it onward), is one who has been taught the Jedi ways but does not affiliate themselves with the Jedi(or, I assume, the Sith). How neutral you are is not an issue... I was a Light Side Gray Jedi (I just played myself, as always, and that's how it worked out). I think, had the game been designed differently (I have some ideas), I'd have ended up with a somewhat darker morality rating, but the way it's set up, I was maxed out Light Side for most of the game. Most NPC's didn't seem to take a hint though... every chance I got I mentioned that I wasn't a Jedi, not officially anyway, and no one bought it. I finally gave up and let the Jedi comments pass.
  21. I'm not positive, but I thought Zabraks' facial designs were tatoos, perhaps in accordance with the lines naturally appearing on the face. If that's the case, the MS Paint look is okay.
  22. Cool avatar... Deus Ex is probably my favorite single-player game. About lightsabers... I don't really trust "canon" anymore because of it's abuse after the original trilogy, and I take what I like and leave out the rest. I don't see why various lightsaber crystals wouldn't exist, but I don't know how they work so I can't be sure of what makes sense and what doesn't. I thought I heard a long time ago that red lightsaber crystals were synthetic, not natural; anyone else recall hearing that at some point? Anyhow, it does bother me when Light Side Jedi use a red saber because the symbolism of the red saber is TOTALLY conflicting with the character, and I wish others would take note of these things (in the game). I mean, personally, I'd be much more at ease a Jedi pulls a blue blade out than if he pulls out a red one. On the other hand, I don't have a problem with Dark Siders using whatever colors they wish, because they're not straightforward and deception isn't foul to them. I liked the Viridian, as I said earlier, but assuming that isn't a choice, I'd go with green. I like wearing reds and browns, so the contrast works pretty well. Blue just seems... less sophisticated. But it is more attractive.
  23. Thanks for the welcome mat. I did gain enough influence. She actually TOLD me she wanted me to train her in the ways of the Jedi, and then nothing came of that. From what I've read, what I failed to do was ask her to put her clothes back on. I didn't have enough influence with Atton to talk with him much, but I know with the Handmaiden it was not my problem, but rather that the trigger for her to move on to new dialogue was singular and arbitrary. Steve, I don't see an option to move the thread, but I guess the mods will move it. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel more like myself and will be better able to carry on a discussion. I've been pretty zoned out tonight on account of the big let down (yes, I realize that I am a geek if there ever was one).
  24. I haven't read your whole essay but I don't agree with you on this part. There's even more stuff they did wrong (and stuff that's not being done at all ). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I've read a few posts just now about things upsetting people, but whatever. It's how I felt through the first playthrough, my only one probably, that matters. I try not to see the game as numbers but rather as a reality (fantasy, whatever)... which is why this sort of issue I had is especially glaring. I thought I read somewhere that Bao-Dur can become a Jedi... what? No, right? Visas was the only Jedi I had with me, and like I said, I didn't particularly care for her character. If there are a lot of problems, I don't think that means the game doesn't merit some congratulations. I think all the beauty and clever design is there, it's just been muddled up in part (or wholly) by some issues. There is still a lot of talent that went into this game, and judging by the game I imagine most of the core team really put their hearts into it. It's too bad, for me, other gamers, and the team that the flaws got through and turned out to be so big.
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